A known opening and closing mechanism includes an opening and closing member arranged at a roof portion of a vehicle body and slidably moving to open and close an opening of the roof portion in order to let in air or light from an exterior side to an interior side of a vehicle. Such opening and closing mechanism generally includes a support frame arranged at the opening and closing member to thereby support the opening and closing member relative to the vehicle body, a guided member arranged at the support frame, a guide rail guiding the guided member along a side edge of the opening of the roof portion, and a driving device moving the support frame slidably along the guide rail.
While the vehicle is moving, the opening and closing member may be moved vertically by wind pressure or the like, therefore causing a flutter behavior in which the guided member irregularly interferes with the guide rail. In case of the occurrence of noise and vibration caused by the flutter behavior, comfort in a vehicle interior space may be deteriorated.
Accordingly, for example, a known slide shoe for a sliding roof, which is disclosed in JP1991-025026A, serves as a guided member that is guided by a guide rail having a U-shaped cross-section. The slide shoe is formed to be an approximately elongated elliptical shape in lateral cross-section. Further, the slide shoe includes a slide shoe body made of rubber and a slide casing made of synthetic resin and covering the slide shoe body. The slide shoe body includes an insertion groove into which a holder protruding from a support frame is inserted.
According to the slide shoe as configured above, when an opening and closing member is moved in a vertical direction of a vehicle by wind pressure or the like, one portion of the slide shoe body is elastically deformed and compressed. Accordingly, even when the holder is moved in the vertical direction, the slide casing does not move in the vertical direction. As a result, the slide casing does not hit or impact against the guide rail, therefore reducing noise and vibration due to the vertical movement of the opening and closing member. In addition, the slide shoe body serves as a damper to thereby absorb vibration energy. Accordingly, the noise and vibration is further minimized.
However, when the vertical movement of the holder further increases, the slide shoe body may not be sufficiently elastically deformed to minimize the movement of the holder. Moreover, when the holder is moved in the vertical direction at an extremely rapid pace, the elastic deformation of the slide shoe body may not be sufficient to absorb vibration caused by the movement of the holder. As a result, a clearance is generated between the slide shoe body and the slide casing; therefore, the slide shoe body hits against the slide casing. Consequently, noise and vibration occur between the slide shoe body and the slide casing; therefore, the opening and closing member may not slide smoothly.
A need thus exists for a support mechanism for an opening and closing member, which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.